A Plant A Day Till Spring – Day 4 – Narcissus

“A Plant a Day till Spring” will highlight one plant a day, starting on the winter solstice (December 21, 2013)… And ending on the vernal equinox (March 20, 2014)… If all goes to plan I will be starting with old Snowdrop photos from 2013… And ending with new photos of Snowdrops in 2014…

Narcissus… Better known by the common name Daffodil… Is a genus of hardy spring-flowering bulbs in the Amaryllis family… The name is linked to the Greek myth of Narcissus… Who became so obsessed with his own reflection that he knelt and gazed into a pool of water… Eventually falling in and drowning… The Narcissus plant sprang from where he died…

Narcissus is poisonous… Mostly in the bulb… But also in the leaves… Accidental poisoning is uncommon… But due to the bulbs resemblance to an onion… It is not unheard of… Daffodils also cause a skin irritation known as “daffodil itch”… Some cultivars more than others… It is probably best if those with sensitive skin wear long sleeves and gloves when working with this plant…

Daffodils have a long-standing association with fruit tree guilds in permaculture… Typical recommendations being to plant them in a circle around the tree based on what you believe the canopy will be in a few years… The belief is that the bulbs will prevent the grass from encroaching on the tree… Early flowering attracts important beneficial insects… And the poisonous foliage will prevent browsing…

The only one of these three beliefs that has any real merit is beneficial attraction… Grass and weeds do not stop advancing unless they encounter an impenetrable barrier… A circle of bulbs does not count as an impenetrable barrier by any means… Likewise… Although the foliage of the daffodil is toxic… Most of the poison is concentrated in the bulb… It would require a carpet of Narcissus below the tree to seriously have any possible effect on preventing browsing… But it would be really beautiful…

My recommendations are as follows… Daffodils should not be planted as a border around your trees… Although it will look pretty… It will not work exactly as advertised… It won’t hurt anything either… Daffodils should be planted in clumps at a depth of at least four inches… I like to throw a few bulbs in the air and then plant the clumps where each one falls… Daffodil bulbs reproduce on their own… Every so often the clumps should be dug up and divided to prevent overcrowding…

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

New To writing and never had to site sources before… These “Plant a Day Till Spring” posts are simply intended to kill time until spring… My source is Wikipedia.org… The photography is all my own… And I am adding my own information… But much of this is just related from the web…

This website and all of the information presented within is provided free by the author… Me… It is my sole opinion and is not representative of anyone other than myself… Although this website is free… I sell prints of my photography here – www.society6.com/chriscondello – or you can contact me directly with questions at – c.condello@hotmail.com – Although it isn’t a requirement… It helps…

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Practical Permaculture – Summer Reflections – Mint and Hugelkultur

“The Brain on Gardening” – Hamnett Place Park and Ride – Wilkinsburg, PA – An onion flowering under a Serviceberry…

A permaculture garden should be thought of as a laboratory, we perform experiments with our plants and record the data for the future. Through careful observation, we determine what changes we need to make in our gardens and lives to better serve the land as a whole. Although permaculture is nothing new, many of the techniques are considered the cutting-edge of agricultural science. Given the new-nature of these techniques, there is still much to be learned.

Permaculture and science do not always get along, controlled experiments in laboratory settings regularly show no evidence of real benefits (of any kind) in even the most storied of companion plants. Sometimes, an individual must make a faith-based decision on what they think will work. Skeptics tend to only look for information that proves their skepticism, therefore they look past all of the opposing information. Optimists tend to do the exact same thing except in a positive direction, the difference is the optimist will only find evidence of the system working and typically… The system will therefore work…

Occasionally, something that seems like a good idea on paper… Fails miserably in the field… Here are a couple of tidbits I picked up this summer…

“Telephone Pole Garden” – Whitney Avenue – Wilkinsburg, PA – Pineapple mint growing at the base of a local telephone pole garden I created a few years ago…

Mint and the Fruit Tree Guild

After a summer of observation, I have come to the conclusion that mint has no place in a dwarf fruit tree guild, it simply grows too fast to properly maintain to a height conducive to the health of the trees. The first course of branches on a dwarf fruit tree can be as low as one foot off the ground, and many mints will stretch to 4′ tall when in flower. One of the most important aspects to a trees health that is often forgotten in permaculture is air circulation, it is absolutely required for the health of the tree and production of fruit.

Many pests will search for the weakest target in their foraging territory, a tree trunk that is covered by competing weeds is a favorite of many boring insects. In nature, a fruit trees canopy hoards water and sunlight from the plants growing beneath it effectively keeping trunk contact to a minimum. This effect can be demonstrated by planting a sun loving perennial next to the trunk of a large shade tree, although it may survive, it will always seem like it is trying to migrate away from the trunk and into the sun.

The plants that you plant in a tree guild need to benefit the tree, anything that grows quickly or aggressively is most likely robbing the target of your guild from nutrients. A mint patch that is several years old becomes a tangled mess of rooted stems, this mat is impenetrable by all but the hardest rains. Mint can outcompete many weeds, it is safe to assume it will outcompete your tree, and garden as long as you leave it in the game.

Although mint can be a troublemaker in the garden, it is important to remember all plants have a place. Beginners often have no clue that the plants purchased in tiny nursery pots will one day grow into massive clonal colonies, no matter how many times they are told they still make this common mistake. Mint should be grown in an out-of-the-way spot in the garden, if you will not be harvesting it regularly it can be run over with a lawnmower a few times a year in an attempt to keep it regulated… plus it’s like a breath mint for your lawnmower…

“Burnt Sienna” – Frick Park – Pittsburgh, PA – What remains of a large log left to rot on the ground… A few short years ago this log was a formidable obstacle… Now it is nothing more than a smear of red on the forest floor…

Old Man Hugel and the Mystery of the Disappearing Mound

As the story goes, old man Hugel was a miner who liked to collect wood. He spent his days working in the mine, but his nights were spent searching for his prized native lumbers… He eventually collected so much wood that it filled the house to the point that he could fit no more, growing increasingly frustrated he began to pile it in his backyard, and then the front.

Old man Hugel died in an accident later that year, his piles of precious wood left to rot in the wind and rain. The community toiled over who was going to clean this mess up, given the nature of government, this took some time and as a result, the piles of wood were left out exposed to the elements for quite some time.

Two years passed before the community was ready to clean up the mess, the money had finally materialized and the red tape had been cut. Much to the surprise of the group the piles were now apparently gone, a result of the effects of nature and time. You see, nature has no red tape. Rain, snow and wind do not argue. The elements are very unforgiving of the things we create, and are constantly fighting them. Some things we create are intended to be destroyed, as is the case with the hugelkultur mound.

Sorry… Not quite sure where that came from…

hugelkultur is a style of gardening in which wood, organic material and soil are stacked into mounds, these mounds are planted in and left alone to slowly break down. There is a lot of confusion and misconceptions pertaining to the use of  these types of mounds. The confusion arises from the belief that a hugelkultur mound is a permanent landscape feature, when in fact it is nothing more than a glorified compost heap.

Huglekultur, when done correctly can effectively eliminate a large amount of wood. When built properly, the wood inside of the mound slowly breaks down providing nutrients for the plants growing above. Individuals intending to create a permanent feature in their yard using the hugelkultur technique will ultimately be disappointed, this disappointment is only further materialized with the realization that doing everything right is what caused the failure.

Wood is not an impervious material, it is intended to break down into soil over time. A large tree that has fallen in the forest will not exist indefinitely, as it is exposed to the elements and weather, it will eventually break down into a tiny fraction of its original size. For this reason the amount of wood put into a hugelkultur mound directly affects the long-term size of the pile. The wood contained within the mound is meant to break down, in ideal conditions it is safe to assume your mound will disappear in a few short years.

I receive an alarming amount of emails asking questions about previously installed hugelkultur mounds… I want to stress, that I sincerely believe this is a product of misinformation as opposed to deceit. Complaints of hugelkultur mounds disappearing over time are in fact, a testament to how effective they can be at the conversion of wood into organic material. This common misconception is the reason for this post, I am essentially tired of answering questions relating to the subject.

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

This site… And all the photographs and information presented within are provided free of charge by the author… I am not affiliated with any product or business… Only myself… Writing this blog takes a ton of time… If you find any of this information helpful, please consider purchasing a print from my online store… It is obviously not a requirement… But it helps…

I sell prints of my photography here – http://www.society6.com/chriscondello Or you can contact me directly at c.condello@hotmail.com for commissions or locally/personally produced prints… Thank you for reading…

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Practical Permaculture – Planting Under Fruit Trees

I believe that it is important for people to realize that all plants, trees, animals and humans have a physical and spiritual connection. When these connections are disturbed, chaos can ensue. But when these systems work in harmony, life is produced and sustained.

The purpose of this article is to hopefully shift the common paradigm that the space under a fruit tree should be kept clean, and plant free. A common belief is that very little will survive under a tree, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many plants will not only grow under a tree, but will also benefit the tree for years to come.

Properly selected plants can serve many purposes, anything from attracting beneficial insects, to mining nutrients from the soil, plants can handle it.  In a natural setting, the space underneath of a tree can be filled with plants. Many of these plants serve a specific purpose in the micro climate the tree creates. I’m going to identify some, and transcribe their purpose for you…

The common term given to a group of plants in permaculture is a “guild”, basically any group of plants that are working together to achieve a common goal. Guilds are commonly created under trees in an attempt to lighten your workload, while still benefitting the tree with pest prevention, fertilization, and pollination. It is extremely important to remember that when creating a guild under an established tree, the plants will need regular watering for at least the first year to establish… I have established plants under conifer trees just by watering them for a year, once they are established they will grow… Slowly… But they will grow…

When creating a permaculture based fruit tree guild, it is important to remember and follow a few  simple guidelines…

Use the cardboard sheet-mulch somewhere else – I am constantly blown away by the fact, that anybody out their thinks it is a good idea to cover the ground under a tree in cardboard. Yet everyone does it… Cardboard, when used as a sheet mulch, takes a long time to break down. As long as that mulch is in tact, the amount of water required to penetrate it will be considerably multiplied… Excessive mulch under a tree will kill the tree… Don’t be fooled!..

Last fall I had the chance to help GrowPGH plant some fruit trees at Miss Mary’s Garden in Homewood, hugelkultur style.

Never cover the base of the tree with mulch – I know you have all seen it when driving through the suburbs, trees mulched well above the base of the trunk. This is commonly referred to as a “mulch volcano”, this is the absolute worst thing you can do to a tree… Often this can be a death sentence for an otherwise healthy tree.

Plants can compete with a large tree – Certain recommended plants, when planted in specific climates, can and will become invasive… Research… Research… Research… Everything you plant… Or ask someone… preferably someone with experience… Like a Master Gardener…

A few of the plants commonly planted in a fruit tree based permaculture guild include…

Daffodils – Daffodils are one of my all time favorite fruit tree companion plants, they begin to bloom right before most fruit trees. Since these bulbs bloom before the trees, the early season pollen seekers will already be in the area of the tree when it blooms. Daffodils have come a long way from the past, they are affordable, and readily available in so many styles it will make your head spin. Plant them 6 inches away from the trunk, in a circle around the tree… You will not be disappointed.

Chives – Includes all Allium, but this is specifically about chives. Chives are the smallest species of all the edible onions, they can become problematic if left to their own devices though. Chives are a perennial plant native to North America, and is one of the most commonly used herbs today. Chives are absolutely repulsive to insects, yet their flowers are extremely attractive to beneficial pollinating insects. Historically, farmers would plant chives at the edge of their gardens to repel insects. The juice, when extracted, can be used as a spot insecticide.

Comfrey – https://chriscondello.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/practical-urban-permaculture-comfrey-cautions/ – If you have some space… And like comfrey… Then I would say plant comfrey under your trees…. But I won’t be planting it anytime soon…

Bee Balm – I love bee balm, it is an aromatic herb in the family Lamiaceae. It is a very hardy perennial native to eastern North America in the mint family, plants in the mint family have square stems, and opposite leaves. Bee balm tends to grow in dense clusters and can get very tall, I personally recommend getting dwarf versions of this plant… Especially in urban environments. Bee Balm is used to attract beneficial, but it is also top-notch as an ornamental.

Dill – Depending on where dill is grown it is either annual, or perennial… Though in my climate it is an annual. Dill is used as a tree companion due to the amount of beneficial insects it attracts.

Echinacea – One of my all time favorite plants, I currently grow 15 varieties on my tiny urban lot. Echinacea is a herbaceous flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is an extremely drought tolerant plant, which makes it perfectly suited to being planted under a dense tree. The plant grows from a tap-root, because of this it has access to deep water reserves and has the ability to make nutrients available to the tree that would not otherwise have been available. Cone flowers are now available in hundreds of colors, sizes and styles, they make a great addition to any garden attracting beneficial insects all season long.

Lupin – Lupin is a genus in the Legume family, it is a herbaceous perennial plant with a few annual variations. It is commonly used as a cash crop alternative to soy, it is a beautiful plant when flowering. Lupin can fix nitrogen from the air into ammonia via Rhizobium root nodule symbiosis, fertilizing the soil for the tree. One of the primary ingredients recommended for fruit trees is nitrogen, in the long run, legumes could ultimately save you time and money in fertilizer application. Lupines are also a favorite food for several species of lepidoptera..

New Jersey Tea – A little less common, but rather beneficial shrub that is native to North America. NJT was named during the revolution because its leaves were used as a substitute for tea. The plants roots can grow very deep and large, this is a survival tactic developed to help it survive wild fires. It twigs are a favorite of browsing winter deer, and its flowers attract many species of lepidoptera.

This is the hugelkultur serviceberry bed upon completion, it is important to note that the trees are not buried in the pile… They are planted on top of it… This mound will be filled with beneficial plants this spring…

That is obviously not the end all list of Permaculture guild plants, but it is a good list to start your research with. Remember any plant with a flower has potential to be used in a guild, chamomile, marigolds, clover, peas, beans, viola, vetch, salvias, yarrow, mint, onions, garlic, strawberry, hostas, ferns, foxglove, rose, clematis, monkshood, forget-me-nots, feverfew, oregano, even asparagus just to name a few. I guess what I am trying to say is be creative, think of the space underneath your yielding trees as valuable garden space waiting to be productive.

UPDATE 11/12/2013 – PLANTING UNDER FRUIT TREES – PART 2

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

This site… And all the photographs and information presented within are provided free of charge by the author… I am not affiliated with any product or business… Only myself… Writing this blog takes a ton of time… If you find any of this information helpful, please consider purchasing a print from my online store… It is obviously not a requirement… But it helps…

I sell prints of my photography here – http://www.society6.com/chriscondello Or you can contact me directly at c.condello@hotmail.com for commissions or locally/personally produced prints…

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Thank you for reading…

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.